School Bus Crash Kills Seven Teenagers Headed to Greek Paralympics

ATHENS, Greece (AP) -- A bus taking Greek high school students to watch the Paralympics smashed into a truck loaded with glass Monday, killing seven teenage passengers and injuring 30 other people, police said.

The crash prompted Paralympic organizers to cut back Tuesday's closing ceremony of the games, cancelling festive portions. Greek President Costis Stephanopoulos expressed his ``deepest regret over this appalling accident.''

All Greek schools will close Wednesday as a sign of mourning.

``Seven youngsters are dead. There are a number of seriously injured,'' said Antonis Galanos Lamia police chief of the nearby city of Lamia. Three of the injured were in critical condition, officials said.

The bus was carrying 37 students, four teachers and a driver, one of three buses loaded with students that left Farkadona, a small town about 205 miles north of Athens, at dawn to head to the capital to watch the Paralympics, said Petros Hahopoulos, the principle of Farkadona high school.

The crash took place near the seaside town of Aghios Constantinos, 108 miles north of Athens.

The truck apparently jackknifed into oncoming traffic and hit the bus, Lamia said. He said the stretch of highway is one of the few without protective dividers and that the truck may have been speeding.

Police said they are examining witness reports that one the truck's tire burst moments before the deadly crash.

``The situation is tragic. The crash with the truck overturned the bus. Exactly how it happened we do not know,'' said deputy Greek fire chief Andreas Kois.

The 11-day games end Tuesday. The closing ceremony was supposed to have a party atmosphere, but those portions will be eliminated. Instead, athletes will enter the stadium and the games' flag will be handed over to Beijing officials, who will organize the 2008 Olympics and Paralympics. Then the flame will be extinguished.

``The only part of the ceremony that will take place will be the completion protocol of the games,'' Athens organizers said in an announcement.

International Paralympic Committee spokeswoman Miriam Wilkens said it was ``a very sad day.''

``School children have been big supporters of all Paralympic athletes and now it is time for us to offer our support to the friends and families of those involved in the accident,'' Wilkens said.

It was the second crash involving high school students in the past 18 months. In April 2003, 21 high school students were killed in central Greece when another bus crashed into a truck on Greece's main north-south highway.